


Frame of Reference

by Elvarya85



Category: Captain America (Movies), Captain America - All Media Types, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, M/M, Nude Modeling, Protective!Bucky, art major!steve, blushy!steve, draw me like one of your french buckys, pre-serum!Steve, sick!Steve, this is pure fluff ok
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-05
Updated: 2014-11-05
Packaged: 2018-02-24 06:42:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,085
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2571905
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Elvarya85/pseuds/Elvarya85
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Steve gets sick, Bucky gets incredibly protective and makes Steve stay home from class, which means he misses the days they were drawing nude models in class.</p>
<p>So Steve makes Bucky step in as an alternate to make up the assignment.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Frame of Reference

**Author's Note:**

> pardon the shitty title i feel like such trash for writing this and i don't even care
> 
> so yeah it's kind of been a while since I updated with any fics! Like, a really, really long time? I've been in a long as hell dry spell and this is the first complete thing I've written in...I don't even know how long. But I really like it, so I hope you do too????
> 
> To clarify: I have no plans to update any incomplete WIP's so please don't ask, though I should have some Stucky stuff coming pretty soon!
> 
> Also, shoutout to any art majors reading this and going "hey this isn't plausible at all???" because I am not an art major and did not consult with any art majors I know and fuck it it's fanfic and I needed Steve drawing Bucky in the nude

It started with the sniffles, and Steve insisted he was okay.

Then it turned into a cough, and Steve still insisted he was okay.

Though as soon as the fever started, Bucky all but strapped him to the bed and force fed him chicken soup through a tube.

In the end, Steve was right, and it really was just a cold, but that was after three days stuck in bed with a worried Bucky doting on him.

Not that Steve had any problem with that last part.

But it also meant he was behind in his classes, and while Steve was a good student and was confident he could get caught back up in most of them pretty quickly, his painting class was a different story. They’d started with nude models, and now he’d totally missed it. His professor was sympathetic, but...he’d still missed so much, and they didn’t have any more nude models planned for a while yet.

Desperate, Steve asked if he could maybe find a substitute model to paint. His professor considered, then finally agreed, saying that Steve would have to find his own.

As soon as the relief passed, Steve realized that he would be forced to find someone to sit for him, nude, for what would probably be an uncomfortably long time, and while in class was one thing, with a group of people also staring at the stranger’s junk, one on one was totally different, and Steve could feel his cheeks heating up just thinking about it.

And Steve told Bucky as much, not so subtly blaming the man for his current situation. “One on one, Bucky!” he complained once again. They were sitting on the futon in their apartment, eating shitty takeout and struggling with their chopsticks while reruns of Chopped played in the background. “You’re forcing me to paint a naked stranger one on one!” He poked Bucky in the chest with his chopsticks.

“Well, pardon me for not wanting you to get pneumonia,” Bucky said.

“I wasn’t gonna get pneumonia!”

“I didn’t know that!”

Steve grumbled and stuck out his tongue, then took another bite. He supposed he should be grateful… Because in reality, it had happened before, and Bucky was just looking out for him. Still, he felt like complaining, and Bucky was the obvious choice to be on the receiving end.

“Well, you’re going to help me find the model.”

“What are the criteria?”

“It has to be a guy, and he has to be willing to sit nude, and it will probably take a few hours. And usually students who do it get paid, but I’m broke, so he’d have to be willing to do it for free.” He paused. “And I’d prefer he not be a creep who gets a boner while I’m painting him or something.”

Bucky considered for a moment, tapping his chin with his own chopsticks. “Okay, I’ll do it.”

Steve nearly choked on a piece of what may or may not have been chicken. “Excuse me?”

“You need a model, and you don’t want it it be a creep, even though you can’t pay. So just paint me.”

Steve studied Bucky’s face for a moment, realizing that Bucky was absolutely serious, and had no idea that Steve’s heart was racing in his chest. Sure, he’d seen Bucky naked before… They’d been best friends since before Steve could remember, and they’d been rooming together in college for three years now. Even if they’d tried to avoid it at first, they’d seen each other naked, and it had never been weird before.

But this was...different. More intimate than seeing the other’s dick when the towel fell off in the hallway after a shower. It’d be prolonged, and recently, Steve had been feeling...a bit more than friendship towards Bucky, and doing everything he could to ignore it when Bucky was around.

He realized that Bucky was waiting for an answer though, and even though Steve knew he should have turned Bucky down, he found himself smiling and saying, “Sounds good! Serves you right for putting me through this.” He then stole one of Bucky’s crab rangoon and turned his attention back to the tv, ignoring Bucky’s objections.

Steve tried to put it out of his mind for the rest of the week, even after Bucky suggested they do it on Saturday afternoon, because they were both free then. Steve had hastily agreed, and then darted out of the room so Bucky didn’t have to see him blushing again and he didn’t have to stare at the real thing while imagining what it’d be like the sketch Bucky’s lean form from head to toe.

But even though he tried to forget about it, Saturday still came, and suddenly Steve found himself sitting on a stool with an easel in front of him, waiting for Bucky to undress. He’d been avoiding Bucky for the past two days, and hoped that Bucky didn’t realize it.

Bucky’s clothes came off bit by bit, and he folded them and set them on a table while Steve averted his eyes, somehow expecting to preserve Bucky’s modesty even while he was planning to study his body and draw it while his best friend watched him.

Still, he couldn’t resist glancing over as Bucky walked to the stool, appreciating his body even as he felt heat spread across his cheeks.

“Just sit right here?” Bucky asked, and Steve knew that his voice sounded the same as usual, but somehow the setting made it feel like Bucky’s deep voice was humming through his veins.

“Yeah,” Steve said, proud of the fact that his voice didn’t break. It may have quivered a bit, but luckily, Bucky hadn’t seemed to notice.

“Do I need to be in any particular position?”

Steve tried not to think about all the positions he’d imagined Bucky in just the night before and cleared his throat, mostly to kick himself and make himself focus. “Um, just whatever’s comfortable. You’ll need to hold the position for a while, so just try to sit and be comfortable and relaxed. Don’t hunch or slump either, because that will probably hurt after a while.”

Bucky nodded and shifted a bit. “How’s this?”

“Really good,” Steve said, eyes trailing over him before he hid behind the easel while he collected himself a bit, then reached for his pencil.

“Can I talk during this?”

“Yeah, just don’t move.” Steve peaked around to look at him, then started drawing, starting with some vague lines. He really wanted to capture the length of Bucky’s body.

“So have you done this before?” Bucky asked.

“Um, yeah, a couple of times. Why?”

“I dunno…” Buck shrugged and Steve glared at him for moving. “Sorry! Anyway, I just mean that you seem a bit flustered.”

Steve moved back behind the drawing again, knowing he was blushing. “Why would I be flustered.”

Bucky chuckled, and it sounded somehow...nervous? Steve decided very quickly that he was imagining things.

“Come on, Stevie, this is kind of awkward, isn’t it?”

“How so?” Steve asked, smiling a bit and glancing over at Bucky again.

“Well, I’m naked for one,” Bucky offered.

“I’ve seen your dick before, Bucky. It ain’t anything special.”

He feigned offense and Steve giggled, starting to add a bit of detail on Bucky’s chest.

“There’s a difference between living with me and seeing me naked, and staring at me for hours while you draw me.”

“I’m an artist, you’re the subject. It’s really only awkward if you let it be.” Steve looked at him seriously.

“That sounds...extremely well-rehearsed,” Bucky said, giving him a confused look.

“Stop moving your head,” Steve scolded, glad for the distraction and slight change of subject. “If you can’t hold still, I’ll find a stranger.”

That shut Bucky up, and he sat in silence for a while, and Steve was honestly a bit impressed by how still he sat.

“So why don’t you work from photos?” Bucky asked finally, after about twenty minutes of silence.

“Hmm?” Steve had been a bit lost in his work, and hadn’t actually heard what Bucky had said.

“Why don’t you work from photos? Like, artists in general. You could easily find a naked picture online and draw that. Why use models at all?”

“Well, first of all, the point isn’t to draw someone nude. It’s to draw the human body. And most of what’s online is...not exactly what we’re looking for. Beyond that, photos limit you to a pre-established frame of reference, while when you work with models, you can control the frame of reference, and see more detail that might be obscure in a photograph.”

“Hmm,” was all Bucky replied.

“What?”

“I just don’t get it, I guess.”

“What?”

“The whole art thing. But you’ve seen what I can draw, I’m awful.”

“Everyone was once,” Steve scolded. He was adding detail to Bucky’s face now, telling himself that he wasn’t spending too much time detailing his eyes and lips.

“No, you were always better than everyone else.”

“That’s because I started taking art classes when I was seven, Buck. There isn’t really such a thing as ‘natural talent’. All of us work our asses off for it.” Steve winced, feeling like his tone was sharper than intended. “Sorry, that sounded mean.”

“Don’t apologize, Steve. You’re right. But this brings us back to my original point.”

“And what’s that?” Steve asked.

“I just don’t get it,” Bucky said, grinning for half a second, and then forcing himself to go back to his original position before Steve came over and strangled him.

Steve continued sketching him, slowly adding more and more detail to the piece.

“How’s it looking?” Bucky asked after a while.

“Um...good, I think. Unfortunately hands and feet suck to draw. Also, knees.”

Bucky smiled at that. “You have an estimate of how much longer I have to sit here?”

Steve arched an eyebrow. “Why? I told you to sit comfortably!”

“Yeah, but anything can get uncomfortable after an hour and a half! And my butt hurts and I’m cold.”

“I could turn up the heat for you, but I can’t do anything about your butt, sorry.”

Bucky grumbled and shook his head. “Just gimme an estimate?”

“I dunno, maybe another half hour or so? An hour at most.”

Bucky groaned loudly, head falling back.

“Buckyyy!”

“Sorry, sorry!” He lifted his head back up.

“You volunteered for this,” Steve reminded him.

“Yeah, because you’re a little guy and I don’t want you approaching random men on the street asking them to strip down for you.”

Steve stuck out his tongue. “I can take care of myself, you know.”

“Yeah, but there are still plenty of guys who’d snatch that pretty little ass up in a heartbeat. And you know how much I worry.”

Bucky’s voice sounded so damn sincere when he said it, and Steve sighed. “I really am grateful, Buck. But I also really need to get this done. How about I take you out for a drink after? I’m buying.”

Bucky nodded, smiling a bit, thought Steve was pretty much done drawing his face, so he didn’t mind. “Sounds good. But for the record, I am going to pick the bar and then find the most expensive drink in said bar.”

Steve rolled his eyes and laughed. “Yeah, yeah, whatever.”

Another forty five minutes later, and Steve finally set his pencil down. “I think it’s done.”

Bucky had kind of spaced off for a bit, but he looked at Steve now. “Wait, seriously?”

Steve nodded, a bit hesitant. “Yeah, it’s done. You wanna see it?”

Bucky was already walking over, and he grinned broadly when he saw it. “It’s amazing… God, you’re talented.”

Steve blushed a bit. “Thanks…” He looked up at him and smiled. Honestly, he was pretty sure it was one of the best he’d ever done, and he knew that it was because this was Bucky, not just some stranger. “So, um…”

And suddenly he was being kissed by Bucky. It was soft and sweet and Bucky’s calloused thumb was running gently along his cheekbone. Before Steve could even fully comprehend what had happened, Bucky pulled back, chuckling a bit at how Steve trailed after his lips, and then blinked up at him in confusion.

“I think you owe me a drink now,” Bucky said, grinning at him.

Steve nodded, and once Bucky had gotten dressed again, he gladly allowed himself to be tugged out the door. 

 

**Author's Note:**

> Again, sorry to all artists who are reading this, I am not an artist so I just kinda made some of this up. Pls don't kill me.
> 
> All comments are loved and appreciated, either here or on [tumblr](http://kaijuerotica.tumblr.com/ask)!


End file.
